I have five more Chinese coins and I'd appreciate any help identifying them. I normally wouldn't buy something like this but I heard that they might be older than they look so I thought it was worth a chance. They are in the same spot in both the front and back pictures. If you can't see them well enough to read them I understand, but I don't know anything about them so any help as far as year/dynasty and denomination would be great.
I don't have my books with me, but you know they are all Ching dynasty by the reverse markings in manchu. The last coin is a machine struck cash, that only started in the late 1800's. You can either look up Ching coinage to look up the emperors, or someone else here will probably help you shortly. Chris
The top row and 2nd row left are Qian Long Tong Bao 1 cash, cast between 1736 & 1795 under Emperor Gao Zong. Many different varieties exist. The top 2 have the mint mark on reverse Boo Yuwan - Board of Works Beijing. The third has Boo Chiowan - Board of Revenue Beijing. 2nd row right is a Jia Qing Tong Bao 1 cash, 1796-1820, Boo Yuwan - Board of Works Beijing. Bottom coin is a machine struck Guang Xu Tong Bao 1 cash, reverse Boo Guang. Manufactured at the Guangzhou, Guangdong mint. Depending on weight it was struck 1890-95 (>2.8g) or 1895-99 (,2.8g) If you want to identify Chinese coins, I recommend Hartill's "Cast Chinese Coins" - well worth around $40.
I would second the recommendation on Hartill. Very nice guy as well. Frank Robinson is a great dealer of Chinese coins in the US, and stocks the Hartill book as well. Scott Seman is a great dealer in Chinese also, and has a much larger book stock. Chris
